Do you have any secrets to share for how you manage to juggle writing and life stuff?

My first thoughts were “less sleep” and “no TV.” But it isn’t as simple as that.

I wrote a post a while back called, Is Your Blog Eating You Alive, where I shared most of my time-saving secrets about how I juggle work, family, writing and everything else. Maybe a few of them will be helpful to you.

To me, writing is like having kids: There will never be enough time or enough money. You just do it anyway.

I have many refrigerator magnets, which is kind of funny because our current refrigerator is stainless steel so I can’t use them. One of my favorites says:

Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.

That’s what I love about ROW80. I can keep pushing toward that magic “Write To Done” mark, shouting encouragement to my other Team ROW80 peeps along the way, and in the meantime my life can continue. There is some peace to be found in that, at least for me.

There is also a Write To Done website if you want some really great articles on writing. Learning and feeding the well is part of the process.

ROW 80 Goal Update:

I might not have checked in today if not for the great example of my teammates. Plus, Kait’s question above demanded a response. I’m in the work and baby part of my week so I don’t have a ton to report – I’ve kept up on blogging and have walked about 2 miles since we last spoke on Sunday.

Probably the most interesting thing to happen this week on the writing front is that I posted Round 2 of my series on Using Dirty Fighting in Your Writing. Then today, in an unbelievable karmic twist, I saw the amazing James Scott Bell’s post on Writer Unboxed about the same topic, which he called Dialogue As Weapon.

My inner JSB Fangirl started doing a booty shake worthy of Soul Train. I had a brief second of wonder: Is the fantastic James Scott Bell channeling his Inner Cowbell???

Slowly, logic and sanity returned and I thought about it. I kinda doubt that JSB has discovered my fledgling blog. No, I think the Universe is giving me a shout-out I need to pay attention to. I’ve just got to figure out the memo…

How is your week going? Are you getting any messages from the universe demanding your attention?

16 Responses to ROW80 Check-in 8/24: How To Find More Time

Hmmm…messages from the universe demanding my attention…well, maybe the EARTHQUAKE, but I’m not sure what the message would be. “Don’t have so much crap on the shelves, Kathy” might be one possibility, lol. At least I got a blog post out of it today 🙂

Good for you for the progress you’re making, and your “dirty fighting” series was golden!

Yep, that earthquake was a crazy addition to your week. I heard hurricane Irene is gearing up for an East Coast visit too. All I can get out of that one is “stay inside and write your ass off.” You’ll have to let me know if you came up with something else. 🙂

My week’s going well, so far, though I’ve got a bit of unexpected traveling to do. My dad’s been out of town for work, so my mom and I are driving my sister back to LA, as she starts back to college on Monday. A little worried about how this is going to disrupt my writing schedule, but I’m taking this as a sign that a little flexibility is necessary. Sometimes it’s impossible to say “no” to non-writerly activities, and I’ve got to learn that it’s okay to let things take a breather. Still hoping I can hit 50k by August 31st, but I might give myself an extra couple of days for wiggle room, depending on how things go.

She’s starting her second year at Loyola Marymount University, so she’s not too far from Marina Del Rey and the beaches. I’ve been thinking about joining the LA chapter of RWA, so I can go to monthly meetings and follow them up with brunch with my sister.

I work up that way part of the week. Great area! LARA is in L.A. and my chapter, OCC/RWA, is a little further south. If you decide to attend some meetings, let me know and I’ll work hard to get up to where you are. 🙂

You are doing such a great job with Row 80. I’m glad your playing this round with us. I have to say, I agree that there will never be enough time in the day to get everything done – and I don’t have any little precious ones running around demanding my attention. Kudos to all the moms out there – you guys really are the absolute best and the rocks that keep the rest of us grounded!

I’m sure there are a lot of messages coming in but the receiver’s so out of date it ends up being static.

The East Coast earthquake on Tuesday did catch my attention but instead of something profound it reminded me I need to have my husband check the balance on our washer.

Country Strong was a decent movie but what really caught my attention was the music. I’m don’t normally listen to country songs but there’s some great music in it so I’m all of a sudden a fan. Of the music in the movie I mean. Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester and Garrette Hedlund surprised me on how well they sing.